Group and Community Projects

As part of History 9800/9801, students collaborate with community heritage and cultural institutions to produce group projects. Students may also work on group projects in Digital History. In Museology, students have completed projects for Fanshawe Pioneer Village and Museum London, and in Archival Management, students work with London Life corporate archives.

Current Projects

Woodland Cemetery: A Commemorative History

Students will research and write a commemorative history of London's historic Woodland Cemetery, to be published in 2019.

"A Driving Force," McIntosh Gallery

For the second year, students continue oral interviews with members of the local female artistic community.

Heritage Designation

For the ninth year, we are partnering with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage to research potential heritage properties in Old North.

Past Projects

2016-17: Topography of Grief, RCR Museum

Students partnered with the RCR Museum to curate a Virtual Museum of Canada exhibit, including research, writing, selecting photographs, choosing artifacts and ephemera for inclusion. An additional project is to create a walking tour based on the remaining homes of RCR soldiers in London. Together, the museum and Public History have a Canada150 grant to complete this project.

"A Driving Force," McIntosh Gallery

Students conducted oral history interviews for the McIntosh Gallery’s ongoing “A Driving Force” Project, which seeks to capture the stories and experiences of the female art community in London and southwestern Ontario. Assisted by the curator and a videographer, students performed all tasks involved in producing an oral history project, from researching participants and their contributions to the art world, and conducting and transcribing the oral history interview, to writing a reflective report on the interview process.

Heritage Designation

For the 8th consecutive year, we worked with the City of London heritage planners, the London Advisory Committee on Heritage, and the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, London Branch, to research properties along Richmond Street and make heritage designation recommendations. Students presented their findings to a special meeting of the Stewardship Subcommittee at London City Hall.

This year's students will complete the multi-year project 'real-time' twitter account which revisits the affect of WWI on Londoners using the headlines, articles and ads of the London Free Press. We began this project in 2014 and will end in 2018 with the armistice.

2015-16: Pier 21

The program partnered with the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, Halifax, to create a virtual gallery for the museum on the theme of American immigration to Canada. Students researched three particular migrations to Canada: the Underground Railroad; the New England Planters; and the Klondike Gold Rush; and are collected oral histories from more recent immigrants from the US including draft dodgers and conscientious objectors from the Vietnam War and those from the LGBTQ community. These stories will be shared with the public in both written and video form to increase awareness of the push-pull factors that brought people from our neighbour to the south to find a new home in Canada. One student completed their internship at Pier 21 in bringing the project to fruition.

Heritage Designation

Students completed heritage designation reports on residences in the SoHo neighbourhood of London for the City’s Heritage Planners, London Advisory Committee on Heritage (LACH), the London Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO), and the SoHo Community Association. The reports, which will follow the City’s template to assess under the Ontario Heritage Act, will help inform the City’s consideration of a potential Heritage Conservation District (HCD) as well as community events. They will also become part of the City’s Inventory of Heritage Buildings and be considered for the ACO’s annual heritage home walking tour. Students presented their findings to a special meeting of the Stewardship Subcommittee at London City Hall.

This year's students continue the 'real-time' twitter account which revisits the affect of WWI on Londoners using the headlines, articles and ads of the London Free Press.

2014-15: This Hour of Trial and Sorrow: The Great War Letters of the Leonard Family

**Winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation

Students transcribed, edited, and published a selection of letters written by Ibbotson and Woodman Leonard to their family at home in London. These brothers enlisted as officers to fight in the First World War.This book has been nominated for the 2015 Lieutenant Governor's Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation.

Heritage Designation

For the sixth year, the program will partner with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage and the London branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario to research heritage homes. We will also be working with the St. George-Grosvenor Neighbourhood Association, researching the St. James-Grosvenor area of Old North, in preparation for a heritage district designation.

This year's students continue the 'real-time' twitter account which revisits the affect of WWI on Londoners using the headlines, articles and ads of the London Free Press.

2013-14: Dr. Jones' House, Fanshawe Pioneer Village

Students researched medical history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to curate "Dr. Jones' House," using the Dr. William Anson Jones artifact and archival collection held at the Village.

Heritage Designation

For the fifth year, the program continues its partnership with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage and the London branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario to research heritage homes in the Old South and the Blackfriars/ Petersville areas in the city.

This 'real-time' twitter account revisits the affect of the First World War on Londoners through the headlines, articles and ads of the London Free Press.

2012-13: London Works: Labouring in the Forest City

Students researched, curated, and designed an exhibit at Museum London on the of theme of labour and work. They also produced an exhibit catalogue, and designed and participated in school age programming, public family programming, social media, and public relations.

Old North Designation Project

The program continued its association with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage and the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario to research properties in Old North London for designation purposes under the Ontario Heritage Act and for the annual Geranium Heritage Home Walking Tour.

2011-12: Route1812

Students researched and curated the historical and media content for a smart phone app to commemorate museums and historic sites related to the War of 1812 in the Southwest Region of Ontario (Chatham-Kent and Essex).

High Street Hike

Students conducted research on the historical and architectural significance of the High Street area in Old South, London, in partnership with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage and the London Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario. Their research will be used in the ACO's annual historic homes walk and by the City of London in historical designation programs.

2009-10: A Walk Down Memory Lane: Historic Homes of the Talbot Street Area

In partnership with the London Advisory Committee on Heritage, students researched the cultural and architectural significance of the Ridout/Talbot streets area in London. Their assessments will be used in the process of the heritage conservation designation of this area. Their research was also used to curate an exhibit at the Schweitzer Gallery at the Weldon Archives and for the annual Geranium Heritage Tour by the London Branch of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

Environmental History Curriculum Development

Students researched and designed three innovative curriculum plans on environ-mental and ecological history based on the Ontario curriculum in partnership with EcoKids and the Network in Canadian History and Environment. EcoKids is a non- profit multi-award winning program which has provided environmental resources for 15 years to over 12,000 teachers across Canada. Its website, and all of the free lessons plans are accessible at www.ecokids.ca.

2008-09: Restoring Perspectives: Life and Treatment at the London Asylum

In collaboration with Museum London and the former Archival and Teaching Museum of Regional Mental Health Care London, students researched the history, artifact and archival collection of the London Asylum for the Insane to create a web exhibit entitled, Restoring Perspectives. This paired with Museum London's own exhibit, Cultivating Care. The students also curated an exhibit for the Schweitzer gallery in the UWO Archives. As part of this project, students assisted in the inventorying, packing and moving of the Asylum collection from the former Archival and Teaching Museum to Museum London and interviewed staff members of Regional Mental Health Care.